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Charges framed against Kanchi
seer RS poll: Sonia
to Lalu’s rescue Bihar boys sold
in Punjab? Kalam outlines
roadmap for growth of Bihar |
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Sharad Yadav
may take over as JD (U) chief Scientists
reproduce spotted deer Bhai Mohan
Singh cremated Bird flu now
in MP Vehicle runs
over sleeping migrants
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Charges framed against Kanchi
seer Chennai, March 28 Sri Jayendra Saraswati,
the senior acharya, and Sri Vijayendra Saraswati, pleaded ‘not
guilty’ and told the judge that the charges were false and concocted by the
police. Principal Sessions
Judge M. Chinnapandi proceeded to frame charges of murder, criminal
conspiracy, and seeking to screen offenders by giving false information,
among other offences, under various provisions of the IPC against the 24
suspects in the case. The case was posted for
further hearing on April 17. The case is now ready for trial. A. Shankararaman, a
manager at the Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram, about 80 km from
here, was murdered in September 2004 by the criminals allegedly hired by the
seer. The police arrested Sri
Jayendra in November 2004 and Sri Vijayendra in January 2005. Both were
subsequently released on conditional bail. The case was
transferred to Pondicherry by the Supreme Court in October last year,
agreeing with the senior acharya’s contention that there
was a likelihood
that he would not get justice if the trial took place in Tamil Nadu. |
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RS poll: Sonia to Lalu’s rescue
Patna, March 28 The prospect of future
alliance with the Congress in the UP Assembly polls reportedly prompted the
BSP supremo, Ms Mayawati, to reconsider her party`s decision to support the
LJP candidate, Mr Ranjan Yadav, in the sixth seat against the second
candidate of the RJD, Mr Rajniti Prasad. The elections to six
Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar are slated for tomorrow where the two UPA
partners, the RJD and the LJP, are locked in a cliff-hanger contest for the
sixth seat. Sources in the RJD
disclosed that following Mr Lalu Prasad`s interaction with Mayawati over
phone, after the reported active intervention by Congress poll managers at
the behest of 10 Janpath, four BSP MLAs in Bihar have now decided to support
the RJD. The BSP legislature
party leader, Mr Ram Chandra Yadav, today said his party decided not to
support the LJP because of its hobnobbing with the BJP. "We cannot
support the LJP which is being backed by the BJP", Mr Yadav said. It may be noted that Mr
Lalu Prasad yesterday appealed to the BSP, the CPI and the CPI (ML) to
reconsider their support to the LJP candidate, Mr Ranjan Yadav, was allegedly
being promoted by the NDA. Following the
somersault by the BSP, the second candidate of the RJD, Mr Rajniti Prasad, is
now expected to secure 34 first preference votes, one short of the required
35, first preference votes to win the sixth seat. The votes include 19
surplus votes of the RJD, 9 by the Congress, the CPI (M) and the NCP one
each, and four by the BSP. Out of the 54 RJD MLAs,
35 will cast their first preference votes for the party`s first candidate, Mr
Jabir Hussain. For the LJP candidate,
Mr Ranjan Yadav, he is now left with 26 first preference votes after the
BSP`s turnaround. The votes include 10 by
LJP, five by the CPI(ML), three by CPI, two by NDA , four independents
attached to it and two by the SP. Sources in the NDA
disclosed that soon after the BSP spelt out its decision, Mr Nitish Kumar was
active to garner the support of the rest seven independent MLAs for Mr Ranjan
Yadav. This, if clinched, will
help the LJP to secure 33 first preference votes, two short of the required
35 first preference votes to get elected. And once both the LJP
and the RJD fail to secure 35 first preference votes, the NDA has greater
number of second preference votes (142) against the UPA`s (64). It was also learnt that
the poll managers of the NDA were working hard to split the RJD`s vote bank
by capitalsing on the reported dissension in the party and rank file which
was reflected following Mr Shivanad Tiwari`s decision to withdraw from the
race. There were reportedly few disgruntled souls in the RJD who were not
happy with Mr Rajniti Prasad`s selection. The NDA also did not
rule out the possibility of a split in the BSP to defy the whip to vote for
the RJD as the BSP MLAs were not in good terms with the RJD at the
local-level. |
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Bihar boys sold in Punjab? New Delhi, March 28 Her son was taken away
from his home town Saharsa in Bihar to Amritsar to work as a bonded labourer
for a meager amount of Rs 500. She, along with six other parents, has been
running from pillar to post for more than two years to get their children
back. According to national
convener of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan Rakesh Sengar, 18 children from
Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul districts of Bihar were sold to Dilawar Singh,
a farmer of Amritsar, through a tout, Ramchander Sada, about three years
back. The agent sold the boys
for a meager amount of Rs 1,000. “Our Amritsar coordinator has
informed us that the condition of the boys was deplorable. They get no money
and no rest or freedom. They are kept starved, locked in dark rooms and
sometimes even tortured for not trading their bodies. Our local coordinator
went there with the affected parents, but to no avail,” he said. He said it was strange
that even the local administration and the police were not cooperating in
that regard. “The SP, Saharsa, has written an official letter to the SP of
Amritsar to cooperate in this regard, but nothing has come out yet,”
he added. According to a recently
released report by the National Human Right Commission (NHRC), 10,000
children go missing every year in the country. The commission has strictly
said that in case of some clue to missing children, a red alert should be
sounded in the area in order to ensure safe rescue of these children. Another affected parent
Mangal Sada said, “We were cheated by the agent. He had promised that the
children would be employed locally. But to our surprise, he sold our children
in Punjab. Now, we have no idea as to how to get back our children. My wife
could not bear the shock and died.” |
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Kalam outlines roadmap for
growth of Bihar Patna, March 28 Addressing a joint
session of Bihar legislature, first time by any Indian President, Dr Kalam
unveiled a roadmap of development for Bihar and outlined his 10 missions to
transform the state into a developed state by 2015. The President said even
though after Bihar's bifurcation in 2000 all natural resources went to
Jharkhand, still it has immense potential to develop. "Bihar has immense
human resource potential and vast agricultural land. It is up to the Chief
Minister to fall back upon ", Dr Kalam observed. Agriculture and allied
sectors, social sector, infrastructure and e-governance formed the priority
areas of Dr Kalam to lead the state on the path of development. The aim, he said,
should be to increase rice production from 5.5 million tonnes to 15 million
tonnes and wheat production from 4 million tonnes to 12 million tonnes in
four years time. Stating that Bihar
should become "the theatre of action for India's second Green
Revolution", the President suggested the creation of sugar cooperatives
on the lines of Maharashtra who could establish at least 10 sugar mills which
can fully utilise the existing 100 lakh tonnes of sugarcane being produced. He also suggested to
spread the operations of Bihar state Cooperative Milk Producers Federation to
all 38 districts to enable provision of additional self-employment to
7,50,000 families in the rural areas in next three to four years. The President expressed
concern over women lagging in the field of education in the state. He
congratulated Mr Nitish Kumar for his decision to empower women by reserving
50 per cent of seats for them, for the first time by any state government in
the country, in the coming panchayat polls. While the Governor, Mr
Gopal Krishna Gandhi, delivered the welcome address, Mr Nitish Kumar extended
the vote of thanks. The opposition leader and
former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhury, Deputy
Chief Minister Sushil Modi were also present on the occasion. Later, the President
addressed the meeting of Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industry where he
stressed the need for the creation of special economic zones to foster
development. |
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Sharad Yadav may take over as JD (U) chief Patna, March 28 Sources in JD (U)
disclosed that barring any last minute change in plan, decks were clear for
the chairman of the party’s parliamentary board, Sharad Yadav, to take
over as the new President from George Fernandes. Even though the ailing
health of George Fernandes is officially being shown as the reason for
change, it was reliably learnt that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar personally
favoured the change of guard because of his greater working understanding
with Mr Sharad Yadav than Mr Fernandes. A senior leader of JD
(U) claimed that once Mr Fernandes was replaced, it was likely to help the
party to shed its pro-saffron colour to some extent because as a convener of
NDA Mr Fernandes was more identified with the BJP. The decision by Mr
Nitish Kumar to back the LJP candidate Ranjan Yadav in the Rajya Sabha polls
to be held tomorrow was believed to be a wider game plan by JD (U) to keep
the doors open for future realignment of forces in state politics. It may be noted that in
2004 Lok Sabha polls, it was because of Mr Nitish Kumar‘s
insistence, Mr Fernandes had to vacate the Nalanda seat to contest from Muzzafarpur. Another senior party
leader, Prabhunath Singh, is expected to take over as the chairman of
parliamentary board. The meeting, which was
earlier scheduled at the famous Buddhist site Rajgir in Nalanda district from
March 28, had been postponed due to the visit of President A P J Abdul Kalam
to the state today. — TNS |
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Scientists reproduce spotted
deer Hyderabad, March 28 The birth of
"Spotty" on March 14 this year, as a result of assisted
reproduction using artificial insemination method, catapults India into the
exclusive club of two nations, Australia and the USA, who have pioneered this
procedure. The Centre for Cellular
Molecular Biology (CCMB) Director Dr Lalji Singh told reporters here that it
was first time that non-invasive artificial insemination route was adopted in
assisted reproduction of a wild animal. So far, scientists
around the world have been using surgical, intra-uterine insemination, an
invasive procedure, in the case of cheetah, leopard, puma, wildcat and the
deer. But, non-surgical intra-vaginal insemination, which is a non-invasive
procedure, is more preferred to wildlife biologists. The CCMB, a premier
biological research institute, has undertaken studies to standardise
techniques for assisted reproduction at the Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad,
using the spotted deer as a model for the other critically endangered deer of
India. The technique of
artificial insemination (AI), though routinely practiced in domestic animals,
has not been commonly applied to wild animals. Semen collection and
preservation along with AI can significantly contribute to the maintenance of
genetic diversity and conservation of endangered animals, the scientist said. |
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Bhai Mohan Singh cremated New Delhi, March 28 His youngest son,
Analjit Singh, and grandson Shivendra Singh lit the pyre. His other son,
Manjit Singh also was present while Ranbaxy CEO and Managing Director
Malvinder Singh, who was on an overseas trip, is coming back home later
today. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also condoled Bhai Mohan Singh’s death. Dr Manmohan Singh visited the residence of Bhai Mohan Singh to pay last respects and placed a wreath on his body. |
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Bird flu now in MP New Delhi, March 28 The relief package to
the crisis-ridden poultry industry includes a one-time reduction of 4
percentage points in the interest payment liability on the bank loans of all
types taken by the poultry units. This amount will be directly credited to
the accounts. Meanwhile, one sample from Burhanpur district in Madhya Pradesh has tested postive. Seven other samples from Jalagaon in Maharashtra have also tested postive in the tests conducted at the High Security Disease Laboratory, Bhopal. |
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Vehicle runs over sleeping
migrants Mumbai, March 28 Those killed were later
identified as Sikandar Rajat (41) and Babu Dantani (50). The injured, Suresh
Sau (24), Vijay Gupta (28) and Dilip Yadav (49), were migrants. |
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